Develop Bugs

Nfc tags for dummies (I'm the dummy)

Hello,I heard great things about nfc tags like put one on door entrance so when you get home,scan phone and it turns on Wi-Fi, increases ringer or whatever your home profile may be. How do I do this? I see tags on eBay....getting my nexus but how easy is it to set up so I can have a sticker at home or car etc..
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+1 I want to know it too

Looks like you might need this app.
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.jwsoft.nfcactionlauncher
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

Just got my tags today, got them from tagsfordroid.com. You need to be running Android 4.0.3 to be able to write them.
The tags i got are small discs, like 3 cm diameter, all white with a green android. They are rewritable and i can write to them stuff like text, a URL, a contact card, send an SMS or make a call. With NFC Tasker, i can add actions like turn wifi on, connect to a wifi network, etc.. pretty flexible. You just write the tag and then you can read it back, its basic.

NFC sounds amazing, I have just ordered 10 Stickers. Will test the functionality when they will arrive and maybe when I'm successful, write a small howto.
greets from austria

streilu said:
maybe when I'm successful, write a small howto.
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Please! x 10

got my tags from tagage.net.
they have a nice starter pack which includes different form factors/sticker types and different memory sizes.
(ask them to NDEF format them for you as this might not be possible with ics < 4.0.3)
the nfc functionality works pretty good as far as I've played around with my tags. reading a tag is more or less instantaneous and if an app is associated with the data type you've put on the tag, this app is launched and the corresponding action, e.g. opening an url, is executed without hardly any waiting time.
for personal use the app NFC Task Launcher is the way to go as you don't want to scan url/sms/text/vCards all the time. With this app you can automate your daily routine, e.g. turning wifi on when you arrive home.
NXP has two apps in the market that are really helpful. NFC TagInfo by NXP is for getting information about a tag (pretty technical) and NFC TagWriter by NXP is (as the name suggests) for writing tags (contact/url/plain text/sms).
If you have any questions regarding nfc feel free to ask. maybe I will write down my personal experience some time in the future.

A lot of good information here. Where to buy tags, how to get the formatted properly, etc.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1359057

Awesome...sounds great, but why do I need 4.03?
This wont work on 4.01??
I might as well wait, not sure how long before my new nexus updates, i think next update is 4.02

nevermind...read up on why , 4.03 allows formatting.
I shall wait

Bigal77 said:
Awesome...sounds great, but why do I need 4.03?
This wont work on 4.01??
I might as well wait, not sure how long before my new nexus updates, i think next update is 4.02
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Why not just install a custom rom?
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium

Bigal77 said:
nevermind...read up on why , 4.03 allows formatting.
I shall wait
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You can order the tags preformatted as NDEF. Buynfctags will format them for $0.05/pc. I got 5 sticky tokens formatted and shipped for less than $10.00.

I bought 14 tags from tagstand.com. They have a wide variety of tags (as small as 25mm I believe), as well as "outdoor" styled tags. Their prices are competitive ($1.00 USD/ea), and they have an option to pre-format the tags for you.
I should receive the tags in a week, and I'll post back if they work well.

brobits said:
I bought 14 tags from tagstand.com. They have a wide variety of tags (as small as 25mm I believe), as well as "outdoor" styled tags. Their prices are competitive ($1.00 USD/ea), and they have an option to pre-format the tags for you.
I should receive the tags in a week, and I'll post back if they work well.
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I just bought some of the outdoor ones from them as well, I can't wait to play around with them

Do you guys know a good shop for nfc tags. Located in Europe? Or that delivers fast and cheap to Europe?
Thanks
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

TulpiX said:
Do you guys know a good shop for nfc tags. Located in Europe? Or that delivers fast and cheap to Europe?
Thanks
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk
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http://www.jwksoftware.com/nfc-tags

TulpiX said:
Do you guys know a good shop for nfc tags. Located in Europe? Or that delivers fast and cheap to Europe?
Thanks
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk
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These guys are in Finland, and it looks like they are doing some pretty cool stuff with custom logos and such. I have no idea about how good/bad they are to do business with though...
http://www.tagage.net/tagage-shop/

It looks like the big ones are jumping on the ship as Sony has presented xperia tags.
w ww.sonyericsson.com/cws/products/accessories/overview/xperia-smarttags?cc=gb&lc=en#view=overview
I can't post links yet...

s.m.knipe said:
These guys are in Finland, and it looks like they are doing some pretty cool stuff with custom logos and such. I have no idea about how good/bad they are to do business with though...
tagage.net/tagage-shop/
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I created a new user account for their shop. three minutes later I got an email stating that I should have a look at some page where the problems around unformated tags and the galaxy nexus are explained. and they format them for free if you ask them to do so.
i'm living in hamburg, germany, they are from finland. ordered on the 4th of january, got them on the 9th. (I ordered the starter pack)
so from my point of view I would totally recommend them.

Thanks.
I will look into that
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

[Q] Use Gnex as ID card

I want to know if its possible to read my contactless work ID card with my phone and then use the phone as my ID by tapping it to the reader.
I don't know if this is even possible and my question isnt about the Nexus as much as it is about My ID card, but if anyone can help me figure out what kind of ID card I have and how that would or wouldnt work with the hardware in the Nexus, I'd appreciate it.
Thanks.

There is some sort of chip in your ID or is just a bar code you're trying to scan?

Jmurph3 said:
There is some sort of chip in your ID or is just a bar code you're trying to scan?
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Some sort of chip. I tap the card to the reader in the elevator and at the front door to the office.
I don't even need to tap the card directly, I keep the card in my wallet and tap my wallet to the reader and it picks it up fine.
Let me know if I can provide any more info.
Thanks

I can't think of anyway to extract the information from the chip, but you could always cut the chip out and tape it inside the battery door. I wouldn't think anything would interfere with the chip, but I guess would might need to have an undamaged ID card.

Jmurph3 said:
I can't think of anyway to extract the information from the chip, but you could always cut the chip out and tape it inside the battery door. I wouldn't think anything would interfere with the chip, but I guess would might need to have an undamaged ID card.
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Yeah, that wouldn't work, it doubles as a picture ID as well so I would need to keep it undamaged.
I've seen apps that read and store data when tapped with a credit card, so I was hoping someone would be able to provide similar info for how to do it with an ID card. I don't know enough about the different NFC and RFID technologies and what the nexus is capable of. Was hoping someone on here might be able to help.

Check out this thread from a few months ago. People came to the conclusion that it isn't possible.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1368907

gbenj said:
Yeah, that wouldn't work, it doubles as a picture ID as well so I would need to keep it undamaged.
I've seen apps that read and store data when tapped with a credit card, so I was hoping someone would be able to provide similar info for how to do it with an ID card. I don't know enough about the different NFC and RFID technologies and what the nexus is capable of. Was hoping someone on here might be able to help.
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From what I understand, data that's on most RFID cards is encrypted and the NFC antenna on the Galaxy Nexus (and Nexus S) is not currently capable of interpreting the data. It certainly seems that the possibility is there though seeing as how they usually operate on the 13.56 MHz frequency.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA App

El Daddy said:
Check out this thread from a few months ago. People came to the conclusion that it isn't possible.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1368907
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Thanks, that's a big help...indeed doesn't seem possible, at least not yet.

gbenj said:
Thanks, that's a big help...indeed doesn't seem possible, at least not yet.
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I posted this on another thread, but I think it is worth it here also. HID is beta testing using NFC technology for card access with Blackberry devices. Youtube HID Global Pilot Arizona State. NFC uses 13.56Mhz frequency. The HID iClass readers should work ONCE HID gives the customer the ability to get the software used to tether the phone to your computer and connect to the "secure" part of the Android OS and create a credential. It is coming. Just waiting on HID Global to make it happen.

zombiehaven said:
I posted this on another thread, but I think it is worth it here also. HID is beta testing using NFC technology for card access with Blackberry devices. Youtube HID Global Pilot Arizona State. NFC uses 13.56Mhz frequency. The HID iClass readers should work ONCE HID gives the customer the ability to get the software used to tether the phone to your computer and connect to the "secure" part of the Android OS and create a credential. It is coming. Just waiting on HID Global to make it happen.
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Thanks, cool video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VqnOiA20wg) for those that don't want to search.
I hope that will become available for the rest of us at some point.

gbenj said:
Thanks, cool video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VqnOiA20wg) for those that don't want to search.
I hope that will become available for the rest of us at some point.
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Glad it helped. Hit me up on the thanks meter if you don't mind. I'm trying to get some credibility here.

Which online shop should I buy blank NFC tags from?

Which online shop should I buy blank NFC tags from that ships to Asia, Singapore? Recommendations?

BryanChung said:
Which online shop should I buy blank NFC tags from that ships to Asia, Singapore? Recommendations?
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still dont know wat nfc is... i know u can use it as a credit,card, but what about debit？ and what s with the tag？
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium

Kevin Ma said:
still dont know wat nfc is... i know u can use it as a credit,card, but what about debit？ and what s with the tag？
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
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http://lmgtfy.com/?q=What+is+Near+Field+Communication?#

martonikaj said:
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=What+is+Near+Field+Communication?#
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LOL!!! What a link!

I have had great experience from Tagstand - http://www.tagstand.com/
They say they ship "International" but not sure how far they will go. Great customer service though.

opensourcefan said:
I have had great experience from Tagstand - http://www.tagstand.com/
They say they ship "International" but not sure how far they will go. Great customer service though.
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We are supposed to order those that are NDEF formatted right?

Has anyone found an actual practical use out of these tags yet? Am tempted but not really sure if I'm tempted just for the sake of it being new tech.

andrewsoong said:
Has anyone found an actual practical use out of these tags yet? Am tempted but not really sure if I'm tempted just for the sake of it being new tech.
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Check out the Creative uses for NFC tags thread for suggestions. Lots of people are using them to change phone settings when the they get into the car - turn off wifi, turn on car mode, increase notifcation volume, etc. and for setting alarms.
You can use NFC Task Launcher to change your settings and you can pick up the tags for a couple of quid here.

andrewsoong said:
Has anyone found an actual practical use out of these tags yet? Am tempted but not really sure if I'm tempted just for the sake of it being new tech.
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Haha same here! I am tempted for the sake of trying something new!

andrewsoong said:
Has anyone found an actual practical use out of these tags yet? Am tempted but not really sure if I'm tempted just for the sake of it being new tech.
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As was mentioned, the best use I've found is switching to and from different settings profiles depending on where I am. Some might say Tasker is good for this, and they're probably true, but as far as I know using Taskers location based setting changing can only go so far.
This allows fine grained control. Say you work on the same block that you live, but you want different settings for work and home...Tasker won't be able to do that for you. With these, though, you just stick one to your desk at home (or door, as some people apparently are doing ) and stick one to your desk and work. It's fast, simple, and convenient.
Also, they allow you to do a thing called profile tags. Basically, it allows you to switch between one set of settings and another using the same tag. I have one next to my nightstand that'll switch my phone to home mode on the first tap and switch it to sleep mode on the second tap...very nifty
All in all, they're a minor time saver. But they're cheap and easy to program, so why not?
Peter

I just bought 10 from buynfctags.com. I ordered them last Thursday and they arrived Saturday from Seattle, WA to Plano, TX with standard shipping.
The only problem I found is each item has a 5 item minimum. Total was about $12 for 5 cards and 5 keyrings. I got the NTAG variety after seeing somewhere that they are fast, reasonably sized (data-wise) and preformatted.
They work just fine and I've set up using NFCTask Launcher for use in my car that will turn off my wireless, turn on bluetooth, set my volume to 14 and start playing my music.

So I am supposed to order those that are NDEF formatted right?

andrewsoong said:
Has anyone found an actual practical use out of these tags yet? Am tempted but not really sure if I'm tempted just for the sake of it being new tech.
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Uh.... hello!

Yes, buy the NDEF formatted ones.

thirteen113 said:
Yes, buy the NDEF formatted ones.
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Thanks for the reply

It's going to cost me USD33.95 to order the NFC Hobbyist Starter Kit - (15 Stickers)
NDEF Formatted to ship to Singapore. Expensive to just play with it. =l -reconsiders-

hey I am from Greece. here we don't have nfc tags. except from Xperia tags which only one shop have them. and I don't know if they work for other brands. so where I should look to buy some nfc tags?what type of nfc tags for my a5(2017)? please help.

Nfc key fob

Is it possible to use my phone as a key fob for my apartment complex? Or say my workplace?
I saw the big confirmed NFC list elsewhere, but was curious of anyone has tried or knows about this.
Thanks
Sent on the run. Band on the run.

This has been talked about before, no you cant, its not using the same technology. The easiest way to check this is to get the NFC reader for your phone and try to read whatever your trying to use, like a security card for the building, it will not read it and this will tell you its not the same. I had the same idea as at work I have a Prox II card to get in and around the building, tried to read it and it would not work, I checked the web and sure enough its not the same frequency or something along those lines. At this time its only good for paying at places that have the ability and messing with your own tags.

Where is the actual NFC device? Is it in the Battery?
Im curious if it's upgradable (aftermarket, of course) to add on more frequencies

axel4401 said:
Where is the actual NFC device? Is it in the Battery?
Im curious if it's upgradable (aftermarket, of course) to add on more frequencies
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For the S3 it is in the battery as you say. So an aftermarket battery will likely not have the NFC functionality in there that you would like.

pilothaz said:
For the S3 it is in the battery as you say. So an aftermarket battery will likely not have the NFC functionality in there that you would like.
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Unless it specifies that it has a NFC chip in it. I know some do.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2

Tons of write protected cards

I want to russia for a two week vacation last month... and i discovered something ultra cool about their train cards...
So now i have this huge pack of russian metro passes and they all have nfc chips in them...
unfortunately, these passes are all write protected...
is there any way to completely wipe these cards and get write permissions....

LOL! How did you get all those cards?
did you really ride the train THAT much? or did you just collect discarded ones along the way?

DreadApex said:
LOL! How did you get all those cards?
did you really ride the train THAT much? or did you just collect discarded ones along the way?
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lmao.. all of those are single ride cards... we were never sure how many rides we would need to get to places and back so we decided to just buy single ride cards during the entire vacation...

I don't think there's anyway.
Anyway, what kind of cards are these?
Beamed from my Maguro.

most of the time, you don't hafta rewrite them to be useful...depending on what you use them for.
if you want to use them to share specific info, you might be out of luck.
If you want to use them to initiate things (like with tasker), you can simply have it trigger when it reads those specific cards, no writing required!

DreadApex said:
most of the time, you don't hafta rewrite them to be useful...depending on what you use them for.
if you want to use them to share specific info, you might be out of luck.
If you want to use them to initiate things (like with tasker), you can simply have it trigger when it reads those specific cards, no writing required!
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Click to collapse
yeah, thats what happens but it still isn't what i want as i want to program the card on one device and be able to use it on another device as well... instead of having every device memorize the tag id... i want them to recognize the code...

unfortunately, I don't think you can unlock tags once they have been locked.

I don't think there is a way either
Sent from my SCH-I545 using xda app-developers app

davidmargolin said:
I want to russia for a two week vacation last month... and i discovered something ultra cool about their train cards...
So now i have this huge pack of russian metro passes and they all have nfc chips in them...
unfortunately, these passes are all write protected...
is there any way to completely wipe these cards and get write permissions....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think you should sell me one c;
What tech are they ?
MiFare? DesFire? NTAG203?

CountParadox said:
I think you should sell me one c;
What tech are they ?
MiFare? DesFire? NTAG203?
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mifare
DreadApex said:
unfortunately, I don't think you can unlock tags once they have been locked.
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:'(

davidmargolin said:
mifare
:'(
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god damnit s4 stop accepting only nfc forum tags >>

This makes me wonder why more company's don't implement this into things. Would'nt it be awsome to scan your phone to get in a building or on a bus, or an ID/Drivers Lisnce that can just be scanned to ID you in a traffic stop or to get in a bar or whatever?
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